


Found

by beskarheartofgold



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Other, The Mandalorian (TV) References, The Mandalorian (TV) Season 2, The Mandalorian (TV) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29545377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beskarheartofgold/pseuds/beskarheartofgold
Summary: Following the events of Chapter 8, Din reflects on the events that unfolded in only the last few hours, including his new role as a father.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Found

**Author's Note:**

> Yayyyyy my first piece!! The deaths and violence aren't described in detail, and they are canon (I included the warnings just to be safe), but there isn't a lot of sadness in this, I promise. Most of it is pretty soft and heartwarming :D

Hyperspace. The only time where there was time to do anything, and more than anything Din needed to think. So much had happened in the last few hours, it all seemed disconnected. But at the same time it wasn’t. All of it drew back to one thing: the Child.  
He turned to look at the little baby. “Helpless”, the Armorer had called him, and sitting in a seat that was too large for him, fastened in with a seatbelt that was hanging loosely more than protecting, the Child did look helpless. It was hard to imagine that there was so much destruction, so much death, because of this one little baby who was seen more as an asset than a being. Din thought back to when it first started, when up until he saw the baby’s bright eyes, he was only an asset to him too. He was led to believe so, but the child was anything but. After everything they’d been through, good and bad, this child had become a part of the Mandalorian’s heart and for the first time since he was a child himself, Din Djarin felt like he had a family.  
He used to think about what it would’ve been like had his parents not died that day. He wouldn’t feel as lonely, he knew that. Maybe he wouldn’t have grown to be so gruff either; his father certainly wasn’t from what he could remember. The Mandalorians took him in and became the closest thing he had to a family, but there was none of the love and attention his own parents gave him. Din used to wish that one day, he’d have a family to call his own, to love and be loved from in return, but as time went on the chances became more and more bleak until all hope was lost.  
And then came the Child. After all those years of hoping and wishing, Din finally had something to care for and it seemed to him that the Child cared in return. Looking at the little kid now, sitting in his enormous seat and playing with the pendant that once represented the last bit of the dying Mandalorian’s heart, he knew that the Child not only cared, he loved Din. And Din loved him back. He always loved him, from the moment he met the Child, because in a way the Child was like him. The baby too was lonely, afraid, almost lost of all hope. He rescued the kid from the Client because he loved him. He brought the kid to a quieter place on Sorgan because he loved him. And now, after so much more had happened, so much lost and so much gained, he brought him home to the _Crest_ , because he loved him. This Child meant more to Din from the very beginning than he had known.  
The Child stopped playing with the pendant, looked up at the Mandalorian with his big, bright eyes and cooed quietly. Din smiled, although the baby couldn’t see it - he couldn’t help it. The Mandalorian finally felt loved, finally felt like he had a purpose. He finally felt found.  
“Alright kid”, he sighed contently, “Let’s get you something to eat.”  
At this the Child giggled, and Din, gently picking him up, went down the ladder and towards the back of the Crest. He set the Child down on one of the spare boxes and began to look for something edible, even for just one person. He could eat later. All the time he looked, the Child blabbered to himself. Or to Din.  
“How about some soup?” Din finally asked, turning around and displaying a can of soup in his hand. The Child blew a raspberry as if to express his disappointment, but soup was better than nothing. He fussed a little but after a few seconds accepted the food Din had quickly and quite elegantly prepared.  
The Child sipped his soup, blabbering nonsense sometimes to himself, sometimes while looking at the Mandalorian, occasionally offering some of his (surprisingly not bad), soup to his companion, an offer that was kindly rejected. It amazed Din how the pursuit of such a small child by an old enemy almost tore his whole world apart.  
He lost his friends, one of whom was the first person in a long time he had laid all his trust in, another who was less quick in gaining that trust but speedily did. Both Kuill and IG-11 gave their lives protecting the Child, and Din didn’t think he’d ever get over their sacrifices. He thought back to his own life on the brink of death, the fiery environment of the cantina spinning, dizzying his view, everything crashing down around him. He quickly came to the conclusion that he would give up his life anytime if it meant safety for the Child. And in that moment the Mandalorian was ready to do just that, no matter how much fear built up inside of his mind, no matter how much the throbbing of his cuts and burns screamed that there was so much more to live for. That there was the Child to live for. Only then did he allow his helmet to be removed, for him to see the hell he was dying in with his own two eyes. Though IG-11 tried convincing him, Din knew deep down that he had broken his Creed, even if it was on a small scale. He would do it again too, because the Child was now the sole purpose of what was a meaningless life for the lonely Mandalorian.  
He lost his previous family in his effort to keep the Child safe from harm. He wasn’t sure of their safety, or even where they were. But his Mandalorian family was gone, and he was the one that put their lives in jeopardy. He wasn’t sure what would happen to the Armorer, the one person he held the highest respect for. Her words still rung in his ears.  
_By creed, until it is of age or reunited with its own kind, you are as its father._  
Din wasn’t sure which one would come first. He looked over at the Child, now finishing up his last few sips of soup slowly, as if to save every last drop. He smiled, knowing that no matter which one came first, at least both he and the Child would be a family. He didn’t have to run from that now. If he was like the baby’s father, he’d do everything for the safety of the Child. He’d love him the same way he was loved by his own father.


End file.
